7 Cheap Cloud Storage Options

You have a multitude of cloud storage choices beyond Dropbox, for enterprise and personal use. But make sure you understand the differences.

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If Cubby's name evokes a preschool storage space, that's appropriate since Cubby, as a beta release, is less mature than many competing projects. Cubby, however, is a precocious kid who learned to read early thanks to an attentive parent.

That parent is LogMeIn, which has years of experience creating remote access tools. The company has passed on a number of capabilities to Cubby.

The product offers 5 GB of free storage, and users can gain up to 20 more by convincing friends to sign up. Whereas some competitors use Amazon Web Services for capacity, Cubby is built on LogMeIn's Gravity Data Services, the company's proprietary cloud. A PC with Cubby installed can set up syncing to the cloud through a simple drag-and-drop interface. Updates are automatically synced thereafter unless the user specifies otherwise.

Security comes in the form of 256-bit encryption, the same level that most banking and online shopping sites use, and content can be shared both publicly and privately. The service offers unlimited versioning, meaning that if an updated version of a document is synced to a user's account, the user will still be able to access previous iterations.

Cubby also includes a function called DataSync that, rather than connecting to the cloud, establishes a peer-to-peer tunnel between two devices. This option is a nice touch for those who simply want to move files between computers; even nicer is the fact that these transfers don't count against a user's storage limit.

Acknowledging that the product isn't fully polished, there are some missing pieces. Linux compatibility, for example, is planned but has yet to be implemented. There also isn't any support for Windows Phone or BlackBerry, and it's not clear what kind of add-on features or extra security will be included -- or at what cost. For these reasons alone, Cubby won't work for everyone. Whether it will become suitable for deployment across a large workforce is particularly uncertain.

Even so, Android and iOS devices can already link to the LogMeIn cloud, meaning that most users' mobile needs are covered. With strong security and free services, Cubby could be a viable option for individual users, SMBs, specific groups within an enterprise -- basically anyone looking for secure, simple, and low-cost options for storage, sharing and syncing.

You should add companies like http://www.backupthat.com to the list. They're really the way cloud storage is going in a post-NSA world. It uses a distributed cloud system using multiple secure email accounts to store all of your files. I've stored over 500GB at this point.

I setup my own cload using Seagate GOFlex Net & GoFlex Home.4 Terabytes of storage accessable from any one of my devices(mobile/fixed).I am a developer and store my *exe and assoc. data on the GoFlex"EdsCafe".

Note: I am waiting for the Win 8 Surface Tablet yhen I will be in "Heaven"

I thought iCloud was about backup, but I was at an Apple store the other night and a genius pointed out that only a limited amount of data is (like contacts) is backed up in the cloud. The services is mainly about SYNCHRONIZING, not backing up, all your Apple devices. I'm not expert on the topic, but investigate before you assume you are safe. I use Apple's Time Machine to back up my Mac Book Pro. -- Doug Henschen

Spideroak is one that was missed here. They offer great security, sharing capability, and a great price. They are also compatible with windows and macs (I don't know about Linux). I haven't seen anyone else with the same feature set at this price.

IDriveSync is another cloud storage service available to users looking to share files between machines, or with friends. If offers 256-bit AES encryption, Visual Sharing to e-mail/Facebook contacts, as well as easy public links to files. Users can get a free 10GB account (25GB for .edu users) or $150GB for $4.95/mo.

Respondents are on a roll: 53% brought their private clouds from concept to production in less than one year, and 60% ­extend their clouds across multiple datacenters. But expertise is scarce, with 51% saying acquiring skilled employees is a roadblock.

Most -- 77% -- of respondents to our 2014 Private Cloud Survey, all from companies with 50 or more employees, have clouds in place now or are piloting. Those without plans may be left at a disadvantage.